Although Joseph B. Soloveitchik is U.S.
Orthodox Judaism's most illustrious philosopher, only a small scattering
of his thousands of lectures have ever been published. He is a leading
Zionist who has baffled his closest followers by never once visiting
the state of Israel. In the U.S., he created the progressive, or
"Modern," wing of Orthodoxy by synthesizing tradition and
contemporary culture; but paradoxically for Soloveitchik, now that
Orthodoxy is well established in the U.S.,* it tends increasingly to
reject his outlook and retreat behind sectarian walls.